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I couldn’t even think her nahts empty, but as I turned toward the bed, it was like a punch in the stomach I couldn’t move or breathe I stood there as if suspended in air Two days had passed since I last saw her, but it felt like a lifetio

And it had been a lifeti at her, I was re her asleep after s had been different afterward--better, even I al under Daedalus’s thumb was a more fortunate outco on her back, and it was obvious that when soave any care for her comfort She had just been dropped there, like a sack of dirty laundry She was lucky that they’d placed her on a bed instead of the floor

Her sneakers were still on One leg was bent at the knee and tucked under the other leg The knees of her blue jeans were stained with dried blood Her right arainst her lower sto an eyeful of pale skin My hands curled inward, clenching so tightlyin this room? Was it curiosity that had drawn the Luxen? I doubted he’d seen or felt a hybrid before, and these newly arrived Luxen put Curious George to sha else?

Christ I couldn’t even think of all the possibilities, because none of theood If Rolland continued to valuetwo days with the next to the bed without realizing I’d even moved I shouldn’t be in here; this was the last place I should be, but instead of turning around like I had two functioning brain cells, I sat beside her,just above her navel

Her hand was so pale, so sile in spite of the fact she was no ordinary huaze traveled up her arm The shirt was torn and the material was charred over the shoulder, the navy blue dark with blood

I leaned over her, placing one hand beside her still hip Blood had seeped into the white comforter and sheets No wonder her skin was so washed out My heart pounded as ths of brown hair that had spilled across the pillow

My fingers burned to touch her hair, to touch her, but every aze stopped on her parted lips

Too h the that see of everyscarlet swipe under the corner of her lip

Blood

I draggedpressure claly reddish-purple bruise along her te her head on the floor, and that sound still echoed throughme Truth was it would haunt , the skin under her eyes shadowed There was another bruise along her hairline, but she still was theslowly For soazes locked the second after she had gone down In the bloody chaos and confusion, it had been like time had stopped Then Archer had started toward her, and II had wanted to leave her there I knew I had to leave her there, but sorabbed her

And I hadn’t stopped hiht hand The e jued down the he across her stomach as I covered her, the contact brief but torturous

Then I caressed her, and I was fking lost

My fingers drifted over her cool cheek, brushing a strand of soft hair back fro the line of her jaw and the curve of her lips, and I really wasn’t aware of healing her, but the bruises faded fro had stopped I wanted to pick her up, clean her, but that would be too much

It could already be too much, and then what?

Color now infused her cheeks, a sweet pink flush spreading across her face, and I realized she would wake soon

I couldn’t be in here

Gently, I re them under the blanket There was more that could’ve been done, should’ve been done, but thisthis had to be enough

Closingthe sweet, unique scent that was solely hers, and then I kissed her parted lips Sensation rushed overdescribed as sublime, and I forced myself to lift my head and stand and back the hell away froh a dark voice whispered that it probably already was

There were a hundred ways all of this could play out, and I couldn’t see a happy ending with any of the of unconsciousness, andstill for several moments, I was kind of surprised by the fact that I wasn’t in any serious pain There was a dull ache in my shoulder, and so, but I’d expected more

Confusion swirled inside me as I played back those precious minutes before I landed headfirst in la-la land The poo had hit the proverbial fan at theon hu to the huirl had made it to safety, but where was it safe? They’d been everywhere and